Mixed results for our airport

CAIRNS Airport figures for 2019 make for sober reading, especially after some buoyant results for the region’s tourism sector for the 12 months between September 2018September 2019.

Total passenger numbers fell below five million to 4,917,251, a massive drop of 226,503 overall compared to 2018 (5,198,024).

Surprisingly it was people through the domestic terminal, which fell the most, down 4.2 per cent or 180,563.

International numbers only decreased 1076 to 685,477 or -0.2 per cent.

It appears the poor start to the year with lots of rain and flooding resulted in many people cancelling their trips to the region.

Fortunately the statistics for December show the fall in domestic arrivals has eased from -4.2 per cent in 2019 to -2.5 per cent last month.

On the international front Cathay Pacific stopped flying between Cairns and Hong Kong in October and the figures for December reflect that with a fall of 6401 or a 10.5 per cent decrease of travellers through the international terminal.

The airport is forecasting sixmillion passenger turnover through the domestic terminal by 2027 and is investing $55 million upgrading facilities to cope with the increase and to make the environment easier and more pleasant for travellers.

The competition for airlines is intense and other factors such as pilot and aircraft shortages are making new route development a huge challenge.

There have been disappointments, but the airport can highlight successful routes, especially Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Bali, Japan, Singapore and Papua New Guinea.